Overall I enjoyed the movie a lot. But there were a lot of problems too. Here are just a few:
1) The entire casino plot line was stupid. Delete!
2) The Rose character stuff was also stupid. Wish they'd developed Finn's story line in any other way.
3) Bombs don't fall "down" in space. They would just float around unless propelled in some manner.
4) Snoke wasn't tough enough.
5) Needs more Chewie!! Just like cowbell.
I didn't mind the flying nun thing, I thought it was cool. I remember telling my son immediately prior to the film, "I wonder if she'll finally show us something after all these years". So it was like a fulfillment of prophecy for me.
The dark evil pit thing didn't make a lot of sense for me. It had some echoes of Luke slicing off Vader's head on Dagobah, but not as awesome.
I loved the "can you hear me now" stuff with the red-haired dude.
Also loved the twist at the end, but... very sad that they chose to kill him off, as I believe the actor is too. My guess is we'll still see a good bit of his ghost next time though anyway.
I am interested and concerned to see how they handle Carrie Fisher's real-life death in Episode IX, and I sure hope they don't over-CGI her. ***SPOILER for those who haven't seen Rogue One yet (it is a FANTASTIC film, by the way -- you NEED to see it!)***: I can't help but cringe just a little bit whenever I see the end of Rogue One.
Decent movie, not perfect but pretty good. I would like to see it again soon, maybe I'll pick up more stuff the second time.
Theory and Probably Spoiler for Episode IX -- do not read if you don't want to see my theory that I'm about 95% convinced is true -- it is a real doozy: Everyone in the audience seems too easily convinced by Kylo Ren when he tells Rey that her parents were worthless nothings. I don't buy it. My theory: They are twins, of course, Rey & Ren. I'm not sure why or how Rey was discarded by mom & dad, maybe she was kidnapped or something, but being twinny would explain their strong connections and shared strength in the Force. What... Kylo Ren never tells a lie now?? From other things I've seen and heard on the interwebs, I'm baffled how no one else has figured this out yet and presented this theory. Perhaps it is just THAT obvious and doesn't need to be said out loud?
Sorry to all those who will be spoiled by this 2 years from now, that's how certain I am about this.